Making your own photographic equipment

If, like me, you're on a budget, any innovative ideas to create your own equipment for next to nothing is worthwhile looking at.

Diyphotography.net has a huge resource of info on photography as well as DIY projects that can be made with everyday things.

You can't replace expensive studio equipment with something equal in result but lower in price, that's true enough. But when you don't have the choice or opportunity, you get creative and sometimes the results can be surprising.

If you have any projects you might want to share, DIYPhotography might be interested in posting it on their website.

:-D glad some found it useful. I've just made myself a "studio light" that resembles a beauty dish but without a diffuser in the middle. works pretty well and cost me $10. @Parkinsonsniper, I know what you mean. Didn't think I could make my own stuff and sometimes didn't quite work out, but after going through the other ideas I started thinking of my own. it's a work in progress lol.

I shoot all my object subjects (which I usually isolate on white) using natural light on the island of our well lit kitchen. I control the lighting and shadows with white foam core fill cards and by how much I open the blind slats on the windows. Doesn't get any cheaper than that.

I did try to improvise a small studio with only 2 powerful white-light lamps for food photography and I got some nice results! Of course, the pictures needed some post-processing, but in the end you wouldn't even believe in what conditions where they done :)

I'm not a rich man, so I always try to build my own gear first! Then I see that it doesn't work as I expeced, so I go and buy it from the shop LOL I think I'm not that talented or have "great expectations" :))

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